APA – Dakar (Senegal) – At least ‘60 people were shot dead during political disturbances between 2021 and 2024, according to Amnesty International.
In Senegal, the new government is not forgetting those who fought for regime change at the cost of life or limb. At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye asked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to “set up a commission to compensate the victims of the events between January 2021 and February 2024.”
The head of state said he was “particularly concerned” about strengthening national reconciliation. In his view, this requires “justice in the proper handling” of the cases of the victims of the events of January 2021 to February 2024, in particular the bereaved families and the injured.
According to Amnesty International, no fewer than “60 people have been shot dead during political demonstrations in Senegal over the past three years.” Many others have been injured and still bear the scars of these tragic events in Senegal’s modern political history.
The demonstrations were mainly linked to the summoning to court of Ousmane Sonko, the former opposition leader turned head of government, in connection with several cases for which he was being prosecuted.
Faced with harsh administrative and judicial decisions against their leader, who is very popular among young Senegalese, Sonko’s activists and supporters did not hesitate to demonstrate in the streets, often provoking a strong response from the forces of law and order.
Sonko’s legal setbacks ultimately prevented him from standing in the 2024 presidential elections. His disqualification by the Constitutional Council led to his replacement by Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who led the sovereignist project of the Pastef party.
Senegal’s fifth head of state, 44-year-old Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was elected in the first round on 24 March, appointed Ousmane Sonko as prime minister.
Speaking to the government Wednesday, President Faye said that the compensation commission “must start work as soon as possible to identify the victims and assess the damage suffered, as well as to provide effective care for the injured during their treatment.”
“The Prime Minister, together with the ministers concerned, will have to report to the Council of Ministers every two weeks on the progress of this priority issue,” Faye added.
Two weeks before President Faye’s election, the National Assembly approved an amnesty law for offences related to violent demonstrations between 2021 and 2024. This measure led to the release of thousands of prisoners, including Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
On that occasion, the then Minister of Justice announced the creation of a compensation mechanism for those seriously affected by the events.
ODL/te/lb/as/APA